[Food] Advice for the area?

I'm a New Englander planning on spending May bouncing around the parks in Southern Utah (Moab, Grand Staircase, Zion, Capitol Reef, ect.), camping, climbing, hiking and whatnot. Any advice for the area? Places I shouldn't miss, rules/ ethics I might not know, how to find partners? 

I haven't ever really done any crack climbing, so I can't wait to see how this trip works out for me.

Edit: Now this is a restaurant thread I'll roll with it

Don't build a fire, it is may ,you won't need one. May is prime time in utah and all the places you mentioned will be crowded and park and monument campgrounds will be full unless you have a reservation. Skip Moab as it is an overpriced tourist jeep fest shithole. Nothing spoils a great desert trip  like climbing expectations so plan on nothing and just have fun.

Don’t skip Moab. If you’ve never been you need to go to arches and do the dang tourist hikes. They will be crowded and busy but worth it.

Local ethics- park in designated spaces. If a parking area is full so is the trail/ crag. Stay on the trail. Do not bring your stupid Bluetooth speaker. Don’t drive like a Texan. Bring a portable toilet system, don’t dig cat holes. Hydrate or die. 

Klaus theK wrote: Local ethics- park in designated spaces. If a parking area is full so is the trail/ crag. Stay on the trail. Do not bring your stupid Bluetooth speaker. Don’t drive like a Texan. Bring a portable toilet system, don’t dig cat holes. Hydrate or die. 

That all makes sense, on the east coast everyone just buries their shit, so I've never had to think about it. I assume I can just buy some wag bags once I get out there? 

Also is it reasonable to find partners on here/ in person in the less busy places like Jungle on the Aquarius, Grand staircase, and Capitol Reef? 

Chandler Morfit wrote:

That all makes sense, on the east coast everyone just buries their shit, so I've never had to think about it. I assume I can just buy some wag bags once I get out there? 

Also is it reasonable to find partners on here/ in person in the less busy places like Jungle on the Aquarius, Grand staircase, and Capitol Reef? 

You can definitely just buy wag bags out here. Any outdoor store should have them. As far as partners go, I can’t help you there. Southern Utah partner finder is probably a good bet. 

You won't find partners in the less busy areas very easily anywhere, and definitely not in person.  Potash Road and Indian Creek are about the only places you can randomly find in person partners, maybe hanging out in moab though most non-tourists now avoid that dystopian hellscape.

It'll probably be starting to get hot.  If it does happen to rain, wait for things to dry out.  

Andrew Gram wrote:

You won't find partners in the less busy areas very easily anywhere, and definitely not in person.  Potash Road and Indian Creek are about the only places you can randomly find in person partners, maybe hanging out in moab though most non-tourists now avoid that dystopian hellscape.

Well hopefully I find some people looking to climb elsewhere while I'm there. I'd way rather climb choss in the middle of nowhere than have a line of people behind me.

Watch for cyptobiotic soil! 

If youre looking for isolation and choss maybe think about the san rafael swell. Definitely see castle valley/fisher towers. The creek can be crowded but its totally worth it. Moab being described as a dystopian hellscape is accurate but id still drive through, only thing worth stopping for is Love Muffin Cafe, really good breakfast burritos/donuts/coffee. 

Keep us updated, I might be down to climb!!!

Free blm camping in moab: willow springs.

Great place to meet partners and have fun with your neighbors!

Seconding/thirding/whatever that Moab is worthless and should be completely skipped, unless you're low on fuel and need to stop for gas or something.

I have never paid so much for such bad restaurant food. Moab makes Jackson seem tolerable.

Damis Yancopoulos wrote:

Free blm camping in moab: willow springs.

Great place to meet partners and have fun with your neighbors!

Not anymore: https://drivinvibin.com/2021/12/06/willow-springs-trail/

Marc801 C wrote:

Not anymore: https://drivinvibin.com/2021/12/06/willow-springs-trail/

The last time I camped there (this spring?), it appeared the dirt paths were amended to allow easier access for cars and trailers. Instead of our usual blm dispersed camping experience, we had a huge party in the site next to us with a 30 foot pallet fire going past 2 in the morning. The party was yelling, fighting and driving through the flames. Needless to say the area has drastically changed now that is a paid area. I think I paid $15/night. 

The Traddest Dad wrote:

I have never paid so much for such bad restaurant food. Moab makes Jackson seem tolerable.

I don't fully agree with the hate on Moab, but we can argue that another time. Right now I'm just curious about which restaurants you're talking about.

If you think Moab has bad restaurants you should come eat in Monticello! Although when you live here it puts a lot of things in perspective when it comes to food.

Anyway to help the op, here is a list from the state that's actually pretty good https://www.utah.com/recreate-responsibly/. Another from the Gear Trader https://moabgeartrader.com/2021/02/19/leave-no-trace-ethics-in-moab/.

- Those yellow signs that are on the side of the road that show deer, they are serious. There are probably deer. They don't just put those signs anywhere.

- On the above point, give yourself plenty of room from the car in front of you, not just because it annoys me when you are 3' from my bumper, but because I may need to slam on the brakes.

- Don't spray about where you were https://lnt.org/social-media-guidance/ 

- Pooping in a bucket is fine, this thing is awesome https://www.rei.com/product/207963/reliance-luggable-loo-portable-toilet-with-rope-handle. Having a way to store used wag bags outside the car will be something you don't regret. You can use the same wag bag many times.

- Climbing on wet sandstone in the area is not cool or safe. If the ground is wet at the base, the rock is wet.

- In Indian Creek you can find partners by going to the Access Fund's Climber Coffee.

- Capitol Reef has a cool guidebook if you are looking to climb there, pick it up.

- If you have never been to Moab you should go. It's really cool and will blow your mind as an east coaster. I grew up in MA myself. Do it at the start of your trip so it doesn't feel so shitty when you get there after being in the quieter parts of Utah.

- Find some local cracks in MA and start climbing them before you come out. Crack climbing is a lot of fun once you know some technique.

- Skip the pizza, its the desert, go for mexican.

Cory N wrote:

If you think Moab has bad restaurants you should come eat in Monticello!

There are places to eat in Monticello?

Cory N wrote:

 

- Skip the pizza, its the desert, go for mexican.

Not true. The Mexican is usually meh but Fruita co has some of the best pizza in the west at the Hot Tomato . It’s on your way to Utah just 17 miles from the border

The closest thing to ok mexican near moab is the food truck at the old gas station in green river.

Andrew Gram wrote:

The closest thing to ok mexican near moab is the food truck at the old gas station in green river.

Gustavo's from Cortez opened up a spot in Monticello that's actually pretty good. Chavolo's in Mancos is really good and I'd prefer to go there than Green River. 

To the guy saying "go to Fruita to get pizza, its only 17 miles from Utah". That is hilarious 90 miles from Green River and 100 miles from Moab which are the closest Utah towns with any population. When it comes to pizza in Monticello you are better off going to Thatzza Pizza; Wagon Wheel is an acquired taste.

Ok back on topic. Whoever said the food sucks is right. Just starve. Maybe we can start a thread of where to eat in Utah? It's not a state known for its cuisine. Shoot i'd say some of the best food being cooked around here is probably at campsites.

Chandler, I see that you are from Longmeadow and planning on hitting the desert in May, so that should give you some time to practice on the cracks out here in western MA and CT, before you head out there—especially if this pretty snowless and relatively warm winter leads to an early spring. If you check the Northeast forum you will see some threads about New England crack climbing. No, there are aren’t continuous, fairly uniform, virtually featureless splitters such as those at the Creek, but you can still get used to jamming techniques and, especially on top-rope, ignore the face holds so common in this region and approach them as pure jamming problems. You may have to move around to a variety of crags to get the best ‘crack education’ around here, but it will pay off once you get to Utah.

For a few suggestions, there are a number of good cracks at Farley—with Yosemite Crack as the most obvious choice ( though that can often be wet early in the season) with Peapod right next to it. Further to the left on the same tier is Connecticut Corner, while Barndoor, harder, and Bulletproof ( MUCH harder) are to the right. Nearby there are a smattering of decent cracks at Rose Ledge and Mormon Hollow.

 Not far from you there are a few cracks at Bunyan crag. Further west there are a few short, moderate cracks at Hanging Mountain as well as at Reservoir Rocks in Great Barrington—towards the left end of that crag is a short fist/ off-width that is very similar in style to many in the desert.

Ragged Mt., East Peak (good on a sunny winters day)  and other CT crags have many good vertical crack lines—though on most you will have to make an effort to avoid the common face holds. This should get you started.

Lots of great advice thanks everyone, hopefully the Mexican doesn't disappoint, thats my favorite food. Other than that I'll stick to the plan of just groceries.

I didn't know about the climbers cafe, that'll be really helpful. And when I get closer to the trip I'll be in the partners forum making some plans. I'm going east to west, so Moab definitely won't ruin the trip, and I'll be able to pick up whatever gear guidebooks and beta I didn't know I needed

And Alan when we get some warm dry days I'll definitely have to put some milage in at Ragged Mt, crack climbing below freezing totally tore up my skin so I'll probably have to wait on that. After I get used to those cracks the off-widths at rose ledge should be a good step.

Klaus theK wrote:

Not true. The Mexican is usually meh but Fruita co has some of the best pizza in the west at the Hot Tomato . It’s on your way to Utah just 17 miles from the border

Not on my way to Utah, since I live here. That's an hour or so out of my way and certainly not somewhere to go for dinner if you're climbing in Moab. From Moab it's 100 miles one way. Add another 60 if you're camping in the Creek.

You should probably remember that despite appearances, people from places other than Colorado climb in Moab and the Creek.